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Saturday, 3 January 2015

All About That Base

This was originally a guest post I'd written for The View Is Beautiful, a lovely blog on beauty and fashion.

When it comes to base products such as foundation, I have a criteria, common to many women, but only fulfilled by certain foundations. My criteria are questions such as:

What type of coverage does it offer? I have hyperpigmentation so I’m always looking for full or buildable coverage.

How long does it last? I wear foundation to work/school so I’m looking for something that will last all day

Does it get greasy/feel cakey? I have combination oily skin that does have dry patches so I don’t like foundations that feel heavy or get greasy at the end of the day.

Does it have a large range of colours? My skintone is the bane of my existence; matching a foundation to my skin is the most difficult part of shopping for a foundation so it’s a valuable criteria in my books.

This year was spent scouring for the perfect base product after learning that my previous favourite was an unethical purchase. I’ve narrowed it down to three products that I love enough to give a genuine recommendation.

My first and most recently purchased base product is a cult favourite and I can see why. The Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer has amazing coverage, doesn’t make me greasy, doesn’t look cakey even over 3D blemishes (this makes acne sound like sci-fi), and lasts well. Although I was able to find my shade easily, there are only 10 to choose from which is a bit troublesome. I love this concealer and it’s the best one I’ve found so far (Make Up Forever does a great concealer but I can’t find the right shade… oh that pesky skin tone!) and will definitely be repurchased.

Next up is the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Full Coverage Foundation in cream form. It ticks three of my four boxes - it is an almost-full coverage foundation (some of my darker spots still need concealer and this is not very buildable), it lasts very well throughout the day even without a primer and it doesn’t feel heavy or greasy. It almost feels like a second skin which is perfect for those who want to wear foundation but hate the feeling of it. The only downside is the range of colours for the foundation is very minimal. I’m between shades so I just opted for the shade down. I find this to be the perfect foundation for long days as it is long lasting and doesn’t feel heavy while giving great coverage. Despite the colour range, I will definitely repurchase this product.

Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide hits all four of my criteria which makes it my favourite foundation of all time. Firstly, the colour range is brilliant - I was able to find my exact shade without any problem (Suntan, if you’re curious). Though it is light to medium coverage, it’s easily buildable and without feeling heavy. By the end of the day, my combination oily skin is not much oilier than when the day started which is another plus. The only troublesome part of this foundation is that it’s messy - it needs to be shaken well to be activated and this causes the foundation to dribble out everywhere. I find that storing it upside down helps infinitely so be sure to do that (trust me on this, it’s a lifesaver). This has been my favourite foundation of 2014 and I don’t know if I’ll find any other that makes me quite as happy.

I hope you guys have found this all useful - one can never have too many foundation/concealer reviews. Any favourites that you think would meet my criteria?